


this is a gift, it comes with a price

by Ffwydriad



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Beauregard Lionett-centric, Fae & Fairies, Gen, POV Beauregard Lionett, Tags to be added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 10:36:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20928824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ffwydriad/pseuds/Ffwydriad
Summary: Thoreau Lionett made a deal to win fame, fortune, and the heart of a woman. When his firstborn child turned out to be a girl, he thought he'd escaped the debt he owed, until it came calling.Like always, Beau gets stuck with the short end of the stick.





	this is a gift, it comes with a price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title is from rabbit heart by florence and the machine
> 
> its been a while since i've written longfic, so mb don't expect much, but i am going to try to continue this on a reasonable schedule...we'll see how that goes. enjoy !!

It takes half an hour for Beau to stop screaming. 

To be honest, by the time she stops, she wonders why she’d even bothered in the first place. Her throat is so sore that it stings, and her chest aches, and it’s gotten her nothing. Not anyone looking her way, not any hope of rescue, not even a wince from the old woman. 

She doesn’t like giving up, doesn’t like giving in, but she’s not dumb. There are some fights that you can’t win. And sitting in the back of a cart that’s got spells on it or whatever keeping you trapped, being led into the woods by some creepy old woman. There’s no way she can fight a witch or whatever. There’s no way she’s going to escape on her own. 

So, change in tactics. 

“Where are you taking me?” Beau asks, scooting up towards the front of the cart.

“That was fast,” the woman says, looking back over her shoulder. “Since you kept screaming the first five minutes, I thought you’d keep it up an hour, at least.”

“What can I say, I’m unpredictable,” she grumbles. “You pulled in some sort of favor with my dad to get me, specifically. That means you’re taking me somewhere special. Where.”

“Smart girl.” The old woman laughs, a harsh cackle that echoes through the trees. “I was worried you’d be too much like your father, but you’ve got a fighting spirit and a quick brain, which is more than he ever did.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“What makes you think I’m here to answer all of your questions, girl?” Her eyes burn like fire. 

“Why not?” she challenges. “It isn’t like I can escape.”

“Is that what you think?” the woman questions. “No, we’re too deep in the woods for you to get far. The King of Summer is being crowned, today, and you will be my gift to his heir.”

“Who’s the King of Summer?”

The old woman stares at her for a long few moments. “I forget how little is taught, nowadays,” she says. “What do you know of the fae, girl?”

“Fairies?” What does she know? “They live in the woods and they steal people who dance with them,” she says. “So, he’s the king of the fairies?”

“One of two,” the woman says. “The fair folk live in a realm that borders ours, and it’s easy enough to cross, especially this deep in the woods, if you stumble into a trap or know your way. Today’s Midwinter, and the King of Winter is handing her crown to the King of Summer.”

“And I’m your present,” Beau says. “Why me?”

“Because your father made a deal to get everything he ever wanted,” the old woman says, “and wasn’t careful enough, considering the price. Because very few people make deals with their children on the line. Because the King’s heir is looking for mortal friends, and a gift for her is worth so much more than any gift I could bring to him.”

“And I get to spend the rest of my life playing friends with a fairy princess.” She’s tempted to start screaming for help again, even though it’s even worse than pointless, now. “There’s nothing I can do to convince you to let me go?”

“Don’t tell me you want to go back to that lout you call a father,” the old woman says. “You’d be better off with the fair folk.”

“I don’t give a fuck about him,” she says. “I mean, I kind of want to punch him, but that’s different. I want to go back to my friends, to my girlfriend, to my life. I don’t want to be stuck in the woods with some stupid-”

“Hold your tongue, girl,” the woman hisses. “Best not to tempt fate. I suppose we could make a deal.”

“A deal?” Beau asks, dubious. 

“I can free you of your debts, if you give me something of equal value in return.”

She makes a mock attempt of searching through her pockets. “Yeah, you kind of dropped the ball there. I have literally nothing with me.”

The woman rolls her eyes. “I don’t mean trifles. I mean knowledge. Knowledge, from the faerie courts. You’re to be companion to the heir of the King of Summer, I’m sure you’ll be able to learn something of value, eventually.”

“Won’t it be to late, by then?” she asks. “I’ll already be in the middle of fairyland, or whatever.”

“It’s easy to get free, if you know the way. And have help. What catches most people is that they forget why they want to leave. But you’re stubborn enough, and you have a reason.”

“And if I forget?” 

“I’ll be able to remind you, for a price.” She grins. “Tell me the name of the girl you love.”

“Isn’t that something you’re not supposed to do? Give people names?” 

“That only counts when the name you say is your own,” the old woman says.

“Her name is Tori.” Beau says, and the words weigh heavy on her lips, like a promise, or a spell, or something. “So, is that it? Give you the secrets, don’t forget I want to leave, and I’m out?”

“More or less. You won’t be able to escape for good, with any deals left open. And you already know better than to give them your name. Or your heart,” she adds. “You may yet escape, if you give them your name. But if you trade your heart to the fair folk, they will never let it go.”

“That isn’t going to be a problem,” she says, and laughs a little. “Trust me.”

The cart slows to a stop, and the woman stands, circling around to the back. She offers her hand. “Well then,” she says. “It looks like we have a deal.”

Beau grips her hand, and climbs down out of the cart, and she lets herself be led into the land of the fae.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm @malaismere on tumblr, feel free to come yell at me to actually finish one of my wips


End file.
